Saturday, October 3, 2015

New York Times best-selling authors Harlan Coben, Dana Perino and Scott Simon have joined the headliners for the 14th annual Celebration of Reading on Monday, Oct. 12, at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas.

Chaired this year by Michelle Staubach Grimes, the Celebration of Reading already has announced authors Jodi Picoult and Markus Zusak for the 2015 event.

Coben’s last seven consecutive novels all debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list, including his latest novel, “The Stranger.” With 60 million books in print worldwide, Coben has won the Edgar Award, Shamus Award, and Anthony Award, and is the first author to win all three literary honors.

Perino’s recently released debut title “And the Good News Is …” was an instant New York Times best-seller. She serves as co-host of Fox News Channel’s “The Five,” which was rated last year as the third most-watched program on all cable news.

Simon is one of America’s most admired writers and broadcasters. He has been honored with every major award in broadcasting and is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday, the most-listened-to news program on NPR with more than 4 million listeners.

Picoult is the award-winning author of 23 novels, including “My Sister’s Keeper.” Zusak is the Sydney, Australia-based author of the international best-seller, “The Book Thief.”

Funds raised from the annual Celebration of Reading help support family literacy and reading mentoring programs of the Barbara Bush Foundation, including Teen Trendsetters, an anchor program that pairs teen mentors with first-, second- and third-grade students. Mentees selected for the program are six months or more behind in expected reading ability for their grade. Last year, funds raised from Celebration of Reading helped launch 15 new programs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.